Today was the first day that we tested our catapult and received data for the competition. We were the last catapult to start testing, though, so it will take us a while to finish testing. Our slow reload time may cause us to take an even longer time to finish. We did relatively good on accuracy because the amount of force the spring has is almost constant. I enjoyed seeing all the catapults in action and the different ways they worked.
Today we started a new lab called the terminal velocity coffee filter lab. We also had a substitute because Mrs. Giacomelli was coaching the Sci Oly team.
Tuesday or February 24, 2015 A.D.:
No class!Snowday :-)))
Wednesday or February 25, 2015 A.D.:
Today we started school 2 hours late because the roads were still icy. We had a very short day today and very short class. Today was the last day of testing. We didn't get done testing because of our long reload time, we had to test outside in the wind, and it was a short class. We had to put zeros in some of our tests where we could have done much better. Also in the tower test (You have to knock over a tower) we didn't have enough time to aim in the right direction so we couldn't knock it over. It was fun though because at the end of class I jumped into the puddle of ice.
Thursday or February 26, 2015 A.D.:
Today we had a substitute because Mrs. Giacomelli was working with the Science Olympiad team. Today we also started a new lab called the terminal velocity coffee filter lab. To collect data we dropped a coffee filter from a height of 25 cm to 200 cm in 25 cm intervals. We then timed the flight time to the bottom for three times each and then calculated the average of the times. We then found the average velocity by dividing the flight height over the average time. The goal is to make a graph of the average velocity and to estimate the terminal velocity of the coffee filter. There was a lot of room for human error though so we probably were not very accurate.
Friday or February 27, 2015 A.D.:
Today we started to make the graphs for the Coffee filter lab. We did the average speed graph first so we could get to the real one yet. (the one where we can estimate the terminal velocity) We also finished the catapult lab questions and we found out which groups were the winners, which we were not, obviously. The teams who I thought would win won. Next time I make a catapult I would make a huge tower with a large arm on the end. Powering the arm would be a plethora of rubber bands that would as a result shoot the projectile an easy 10 meters.
Summary: This week was a good week because of our good teamwork with working with our catapult. I can still improve on homework efficiency and efficiency in class.
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